The reviews for Kimi are uniformly positive and the spread is narrow: nobody dislikes it, and nobody claims it is more than a small film done well. Praise clusters on two things. The first is Zoë Kravitz, whose agoraphobic tech worker most critics find resourceful and likeable enough to carry a film that is often just her and a flat. The second is Soderbergh’s direction, described again and again as lean, efficient and quick, with the camera work and the tense second half singled out. Nearly every critic notes the debt to Rear Window, Blow Out and Hitchcock generally, and most treat it as a compliment. The reservations are mild. The Guardian calls it a minor entry, /Film finds it not among Soderbergh’s more memorable films, Paste thinks the ending abrupt and the ideas about surveillance shallower than they look, and The AV Club enjoys it as an entertainingly dumb thriller. Nobody argues that it fails.
T
The Telegraph
17 February 2022 · ★★★★★
100
The review calls Kimi a modern Rear Window updated for the work-from-home age, with Zoë Kravitz magnificent in a techno-thriller about technology and surveillance. It highlights the film's pin-drop suspense and contemporary spin on paranoia.
The critic calls it one of Soderbergh’s best recent films, a killer thriller that seethes with rage at tech companies’ civic failures while delivering physical, visually intense direction. It singles out the metaphors of agoraphobia and surveillance for praise as well as Kravitz’s graceful performance.
The critic lauds the nimble, sinister cyber-age thriller as an object lesson in modest, sparkling filmmaking, crediting Soderbergh’s direction and the script’s standard-issue elements executed with ingenuity. It singles out the camera work, framing, and satisfying action payoff for praise.
The review finds Kimi a solid, character-driven cerebral thriller that showcases Soderbergh’s continued creative punch after his supposed retirement. It singles out Zoë Kravitz’s excellent central performance and the expertly tense second half for praise.
The critic describes it as a nifty micro-thriller and a paranoid ‘Parallax View’ for the pandemic era, hailing Soderbergh’s efficient, intelligent direction and Kravitz’s enormously likable, resourceful lead performance. It singles out the film’s focus on isolation and surveillance for praise.
The critic finds it an entertainingly dumb techno-thriller with clever plotting and a fun if over-the-top conspiracy, effective as a Rear Window/Blow Out homage that kicks into high gear in the second half.
The review calls Kimi a compelling, gripping little genre movie and a delicious thriller that offers a timely critique of big tech. It singles out Zoë Kravitz’s strong performance as the agoraphobic protagonist for particular praise.
The critic describes it as a simple but satisfying 'Blow Out' update for the age of Alexa, a fun paranoid thriller with Zoë Kravitz on the run from Big Tech.
The critic calls it fiercely intense and taut, extending surveillance tensions into impactful hyperbole as an effective nail-biting thriller that lands because it reflects our own cyberpunk dystopia.
The critic finds Kimi an efficient paranoid thriller that pays tribute to Hitchcock, with Zoë Kravitz as an agoraphobic woman who hears a murder via a smart device. It is praised for its sleek, grounded execution and stylish direction by Soderbergh despite being a minor entry.
The critic calls it a tautly suspenseful nail-biter and a pithy, punchy thriller from a pro team that riffs knowingly on Hitchcock and De Palma in the age of virtual assistants and invasive surveillance.
The critic praises this lean, tense nerve-shredder as one of Soderbergh’s recent best, a survival story that captures pandemic-era fears through a tech analyst heroine who uncovers a crime. It singles out the delirious camera work and the righteous paranoia of its female protagonist for particular admiration.
The critic praises the nimble thriller as crisp and effervescent, with propulsive momentum that threads tense interactions with modern melancholy about technology, trauma, and isolation.
The critic praises the film's tight, efficient direction and Kravitz's performance, noting it as a ruthlessly efficient pandemic-era thriller that effectively uses sound and visuals to convey the protagonist's anxiety.
The critic finds Kimi a captivating small-scale thriller that evolves excitingly from Hitchcockian suspense to a Home Alone-style conclusion, boosted by a strong solo lead performance from Zoë Kravitz and sharp ideas about tech power and pandemic isolation.
The critic calls Kimi a timely must-see thriller that presciently taps into contemporary fears around surveillance, tech, and agoraphobia. They single out the lead performance by Zoë Kravitz and the cinematography for creating a realistic, dimensional protagonist and an engrossing visual style.
Soderbergh delivers a slick, quick thriller using modern privacy concerns in a Rear Window-style narrative, with strong performances and efficient pacing, though not his most memorable work.
Soderbergh delivers a tight, taut little thriller that efficiently guides viewers through a technological labyrinth to a satisfying end. The film stands out for its modern technological twist and how it captures communication via devices superseding personal contact.
The review calls Kimi a heart-pounding Covid-era thriller that effectively mines tech surveillance and pandemic anxieties but falls short of deeper insight, with the ending feeling abrupt; it singles out Zoë Kravitz's endearing, nuanced performance as the main highlight.
Soderbergh and Koepp make an old-fashioned potboiler feel modern and relevant with brisk pacing and energy that prevents it from wearing out its welcome. The film is singled out for using the pandemic as a source of anxiety in a paranoiac thriller and for exploding assumptions about online security.
Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate
